As promised, here is the registration information for the ITI Community Roadshow.

What: ITI Community Roadshow - Windows 10
When: 11 March, 2016 from 12PM to 4PM
​Where: Microsoft Alpharetta Offices

For this event, we will be joined by the Windows Infrastructure & Virtualization User Group and the PowerShell User Group communities.

We are excited to announce we are hosting an ITI Community Roadshow as our Q1 event! We will be joined with the WINVUG and PowerShell user groups in order to bring you news and updates regarding Windows 10.

The Atlanta Systems Management User Group cordially invites you to our (as in you, me, the other leaders) fourth quarter meet up on November 13, 2015. Come hang out, meet new people, and learn some stuff. While you're here, enjoy breakfast and lunch, compliments of Microsoft!

​https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015q4-smug-meeting-tickets-18954104236

November 13, 2015
Microsoft Office (Sanctuary Park)
1125 Sanctuary Park, Suite 300
Alpharetta, GA 30009

We graciously thank Microsoft for their sponsorship for the 11.13 event!

Jeff Maxan, SCSM
Service Manager provides an integrated platform for automating and adapting your organization’s IT service management best practices, such as those found in Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It provides built-in processes for incident and problem resolution, change control, and asset lifecycle management. This will be an overview of SCSM and some notes from the field with SCSM/SCORCH/SCOM.

Jeffrey Maxan is currently a Senior Consultant at Intellinet.  In this role he is responsible for the deployment and configuration of operating systems and servers, for over 3000 workstations.  With over 14 years of experience, Maxan has become an industry expert in the Information Technology field and continues to diversify his skills in system center product line deployment and management, programming, reporting and imaging in Windows and Linux environments.
Throughout his career, Maxan has worked as a Systems Engineer for several Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Siemens and The Home Depot. He has consistently been able to stay up to date with cutting edge technology applications and servers and has designed and deployed applications for over 10,000 workstations worldwide.  Maxan has also lead teams responsible for the infrastructure of 600 plus servers and has worked with Senior Leadership Executives on key company projects.

Troy Martin, PXE Booting Fun
PXE boot is boring...so let's make it FUN! This session will focus on how PXE works and what it takes to get it working in the real world using System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager.  In addition to the native PXE boot capabilities in CM, this session will also cover the benefits and capabilities of PXE Everywhere from 1E.
Having difficulty performing zero touch because of 3rd party disk encryption?  How do you troubleshoot PXE booting when multiple deployments are assigned to the device? Come learn the tips and information needed properly support PXE in your environment. Learn more about PXE and things you've probably never considered.

(no bio)

Chris Nakagaki, vRealize Operations
This session will be open forum on vRealize Operations based upon what the audience is interested in.  Either vRealize Operations itself or the many other products in the suite.  Live Demo’s via Cox Automotive’s lab environment will be used.  (If internet play nicely)

Chris Nakagaki is a Technical Lead Engineer at Cox Automotive (Autotrader/KBB.com) in the Cloud Infrastructure Services group.  The group mostly focuses on virtualization technologies and management of on-premise datacenters across the country for all Cox Automotive and its subsidiaries.  Chris is a 5-time VMware vExpert and shares his knowledge via his blog @ http://tech.zsoldier.com.  You can find him on twitter as @zsoldier

Hey everyone!

If you haven’t heard the news, we are holding another Atlanta TechStravanganza event this year. Once again, the event will be held at the Georgia Tech conference center here in the heart of Atlanta.

Mark Minasi is heading down to kick it off as our keynote speaker. Pretty awesome right? We’re running three tracks (System Center, PowerShell, and Infrastructure) full of great content. On top of that, Tommy will be hanging around running a lab if you want to get some hands-on experience.

Your ticket also includes meals, entry into prize giveaways, and plenty of networking opportunity. Cost? FREE! Because we work with generous companies that love to support the community, this event never costs you a penny.

Ready to sign up? You should probably hurry. Half of the tickets are already gone. Head on over to our brand new site at http://atltechstravaganza.com. Hope to see you there! 37 days left!

UPDATE: Here are all the presentations from our last event. Click HERE. Some folks did not make it because of the rain and the increased traffic that occurs as a result of it. :-(

And... we're back! If you made it to the last ATLSMUG event, then you know we've transitioned to an executive boardroom style meeting which turned out to be a fantastic way to get things interactive. No more classroom style lectures. Instead, it's you and bunch of your friends, sitting around geeking out, eating food, and learning great stuff. If you've never presented before, we always encourage you to give it a try. It's true. People want to know what you're working on! The one drawback to this? Seating is limited. Everyone, we have 24 seats. SIGN UP EARLY!

If you're interested in presenting or have other general questions, reach out to us at leaders@atlsmug.org.


The Atlanta Systems Management User Group cordially invites you to our (as in you, me, the other leaders) third quarter meet up on October 3, 2014. Come hang out, meet new people, and learn some stuff. While you're here, enjoy breakfast and lunch, compliments of Shavlik!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014q3-smug-meeting-tickets-12545950275

October 3, 2014

Microsoft Office (Sanctuary Park)
1125 Sanctuary Park, Suite 300
Alpharetta, GA 30009

We thank Shavlik for sponsoring our third quarter event. Without our sponsors, events like these would not be possible!

Shavlik, a global leader in simplifying the complexity of IT management, is dedicated to significantly reducing the time-to-value for IT professionals from months to minutes. Shavlik’s Protect, Patch for Microsoft System Center and Management Intelligence are some of its on-premise and cloud base solutions that enable customers to manage both physical and virtual machines, deploy software, discover assets, simplify configuration, control power usage and ensure endpoint security. By bringing the sophisticated capabilities enjoyed by large companies to organizations of all sizes and types, Shavlik is driving the democratization of IT.

We're still putting this together. More details coming soon

John Rush, Tackling Third-Party Vulnerabilities with Shavlik Patch for SCCM
John has been selling computer software for over 20 years. He has spent the last 4 years focused on application security with Shavlik. It’s not enough to just use WSUS to patch your Microsoft OS and applications, the biggest threat today is with the 3rd party applications like Java, Adobe, and Mozilla.

Today, it's not Windows that represents the most vulnerabilities, but instead it's the applications that run on Windows that expose businesses to holes in computing security. The National Vulnerability Database reports that 86% of reported vulnerabilities come from third party applications. With Shavlik Patch for Microsoft System Center, administrators have the ability to automate the patching of third party applications within the System Center Configuration Manager console, providing confidence that third party application vulnerabilities are covered.

Jeff Maxan, System Center Service Manager 2012 Overview and Notes from the Field
Jeff is currently a Senior Consultant at Intellinet.  In this role he is responsible for the deployment and configuration of operating systems and servers, for over 3000 workstations.  With over 14 years of experience, Maxan has become an industry expert in the Information Technology field and continues to diversify his skills in system center product line deployment and management, programming, reporting and imaging in Windows and Linux environments. Throughout his career, Maxan has worked as a Systems Engineer for several Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Siemens and The Home Depot.

Service Manager provides an integrated platform for automating and adapting your organization’s IT service management best practices, such as those found in Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It provides built-in processes for incident and problem resolution, change control, and asset lifecycle management. This will be an overview of SCSM and some notes from the field with SCSM/SCORCH/SCOM.

Joe Crawford, Notes From The Field: Why Pull DPs Are Like Pulling Teeth
Joe Crawford is a Senior Consultant with Dimension Data.  He has specialized in the System Center products since SMS 1.2 and MOM 2000, and has spent over 11 years consulting with Fortune 1000 clients architecting, implementing, troubleshooting, and optimizing their SMS/SCCM and MOM/SCOM environments.

Many SCCM admins have experienced significant challenges getting Pull Distribution Points to successfully load content.  We will discuss root causes, how to avoid problems, and how to get your distribution back on track after the distribution has failed.

Dan Newton,  Enterprise Patch Management – Notes From the Field
Dan has been consulting for 14 Years in the Atlanta area for Gold Certified MS Partners.  During the past 14 years, he has helped many of Atlanta's top IT organizations implement Microsoft solutions including System Center Configuration Manager.  More recently Dan has successfully implemented a patch management solution for a global IT organization leveraging SCCM 2012.

Dan will detail iVision’s approach to enterprise patch management leveraging SCCM 2012 R2 and will share his experience (both good and bad) implemented and supporting SCCM 2012 patch management in various organizations.

Victor Tanaya, System Center for Windows Azure Pack
Victor has been with Microsoft for over 18 years in various different roles. He started his career in Redmond, WA as a support engineer for Systems Management. He had worked in different roles/teams with the engineering team, compete team, etc. He loves working directly with customers hence he is currently working as a Datacenter Technology Specialist at Microsoft based in Atlanta.

Learn how you can participate in the Cloud Initiative that your company is in. As System Center SMEs in your companies, you will learn how to elevate your skillset in providing value through Windows Azure Pack. Windows Azure Pack is gives a consistent Management, Security and Identity of Microsoft Azure in providing Hybrid Cloud Strategy/Vision.

hello everyone, marcus here.

if you notice a lot of things moving around, we are changing our image a little bit. the illustrious bethany stewart brought on new talent who is wicked at design (sandy aguero.) you might have noticed, we have a new logo and color profile, all thanks to her.

if you find broken things are things that just don't look right, please don't hesitate to let us know.  we're always listening. you can reach all of us at leaders@atlsmug.org. while i have your attention, we have our next tentative meeting date on 10/3. really looking forward to it!

did you save the date? well, it’s not too late!

what is atlanta techstravaganza you ask? it’s a yearly group meeting where atlanta systems management user group, the atlanta powershell user group, and the atlanta windows infrastructure and virtualization user group come together for a gigantic event.

we have three tracks running concurrently providing information from topics on system center, powershell, and windows server. along with that, we have a BYOD hands-on lab. along with great content, networking opportunities, and free food, we always end the event with some great giveaways.

we’ve moved locations this year from the microsoft alpharetta campus to the georgia tech research institute. while we love and appreciate what microsoft does for us, their campus size was unfortunately limited to 100 people. at GTRI, we have doubled the capacity!

having twice the space doesn’t mean you should wait. seats will go fast, and as in previous years, we are likely to completely sell out. come get educated with a fully belly and meet some of your atlanta peers! look forward to seeing you at the event.

registration link is available here: http://www.atltechstravaganza.com/

Mark your calendars! The Atlanta Systems Management User Group invites you to attend the next SMUG meeting scheduled for March 28, 2014 for a day of great presentations, discussions and networking. Come hang out while you enjoy free breakfast and lunch courtesy of BlueStripe!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/atlsmug-q1-bluestripe-event-tickets-10817697023

March 28, 2014

Microsoft Office (Sanctuary Park)
1125 Sanctuary Park, Suite 300
Alpharetta, GA 30009

We thank BlueStripe for sponsoring our March meeting without which running events like this would not be possible!

BlueStripe is changing the way companies manage their important production applications. Our FactFinder software gives IT Organizations the visibility to see all the IT components that make up their important business application systems, where application transactions go in those systems, where those transactions spend their time, and why. FactFinder follows transactions everywhere they go across all tiers and solves availability and performance problems, regardless of platform.

PRESENTER BIOS AND TOPICS
David Irwin, Dynamic Distributed Application Maps and Service Level Monitoring in SCOM 2012
Learn how to elevate your System Center implementation from infrastructure management to complete visibility to business application performance, the systems that make up your applications, and tier-by-tier service level monitoring for those applications.

David is a Technical Product Manager at BlueStripe Software. David's responsibilities include technical integration of BlueStripe's FactFinder with System Center and Microsoft Azure. Prior to moving into Product Management, David spent 20 years as a software developer, including five years at BlueStripe working on FactFinder.

Kyle Slagg, Benefits of Using MIcrosoft Security Compliance Manager
Join this discussion with Kyle on the benefits of using Microsoft Security Compliance Manager to quickly configure and manage your desktops, datacenter, and private cloud using Group Policy, SCCM and/or local policy.  SCM provides you with Microsoft recommendations on security settings and configurations for current versions of Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer.

Kyle has been working in the client space for about 8 years focused mainly on Operating System Deployment.  Prior to joining Microsoft, Kyle worked as a Senior Consultant with one of our partners delivering on OS deployment projects.  Kyle is a Premier Field Engineer based in Atlanta and works with clients on Windows Client related issues in addition to delivering training on Windows +8/8.1 and the Microsoft Surface/Pro.

Brian Huneycutt, System Center ConfigMgr Sustained Engineering Update
A crowd favorite, Brian is back to talk about what's current in SCCM sustained Engineering efforts like hot-fixes and SP1. If you have any hot-fix related questions or want to know how sustained enginerring works for the SCCM team you will not want to miss this session.

Brian is a software development engineer on the Configuration Manager Sustained Engineering team. He started at Microsoft in 1999, and has been working with SMS / ConfigMgr since 2001. Outside of work he spends time with his family, restoring and racing little British cars, coaching a robotics team, and working with a variety of local non-profits.

Victor Tanaya, How to Benefit from Azure Services in System Center
With all the new technologies and capabilities built around Windows Azure, Victor will guide you on how you can use System Center to benefit from different Azure services and offerings.

Victor has been with Microsoft for over 17 years in various different roles. His love though has always been in the System Management stack. He started as a support engineer and also had worked with the engineering team in Redmond during the release cycle of MOM 2005. He loves working directly with customers hence he is currently working as a Datacenter Technology Specialist at Microsoft based in Atlanta.

Andrés Naranjo, Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks for SCOM 2012
Come learn about the best troubleshooting tools and techniques every SCOM administrator should know about.  This will be a demonstration-centric presentation, focusing on multiple components and functions of Operations Manager.

Andres Naranjo is a Senior Premier Field Engineer based in Atlanta, GA.  During his 14 years at Microsoft he has worked with a variety of technologies, including IIS, Microsoft Message Queuing, BizTalk Server, and System Center Operations Manager.  As a PFE, he spends his time flying around the country providing on-site support to Microsoft’s Premier customers.  In addition, he teaches introductory and advanced workshops on System Center Operations Manager, and helps customers architect, plan and implement effective monitoring solutions using the System Center stack.

hello atlsmug! we're back again with another viewing party for system center universe. by now, you should be registered, but if you haven't yet had the time, go check it out! go to systemcenteruniverse.com to get all the details.

SYSTEM CENTER UNIVERSE 2014. GET IN THE CENTER. Join us for the third annual System Center Universe, a one-day globally available technical event featuring Microsoft product gurus and community experts. This year's event will include breakout sessions to allow for more topics and content!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! we need to get your headcount for food orders. :) look forward to seeing you all.

hello atlsmug! we're back again with another viewing party for system center universe. by now, you should be registered, but if you haven't yet had the time, go check it out!

SYSTEM CENTER UNIVERSE 2014. GET IN THE CENTER. Join us for the third annual System Center Universe, a one-day globally available technical event featuring Microsoft product gurus and community experts. This year's event will include breakout sessions to allow for more topics and content!

The live event will be centered at the Hilton University of Houston, with a live-streaming broadcast for all virtual attendees. Don't miss out on this cosmic experience of knowledge and community interaction. More event details to be released soon!

The Atlanta Systems Management User Group invites you to attend the next SMUG meeting scheduled for September 13, 2013 for a day of great presentations, discussions and networking. Come hang out while you enjoy free breakfast and lunch courtesy of Secunia!


REGISTRATION
To attend the live event, please visit our Eventbrite page and get registered at http://atlantasmug.eventbrite.com.


LOGISTICS
September 13, 2012, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM EST

Microsoft Office (Sanctuary Park)
1125 Sanctuary Park, Suite 300
Alpharetta, GA 30009

SPONSORSHIP
We thank Secunia for sponsoring our September meeting without which running events like this would not be possible!

AGENDA

PRESENTER BIOS AND TOPICS
Meaghan McKeown, How to Hit a Moving Target - Vulnerability Intelligence for 3rd Party Patching
Do you know what software applications need updating in your system  today?  Once you identify, how are you creating and deploying these patches in your system? With nearly 86% of vulnerabilities coming exclusively from 3rd party software applications, it’s more important than ever to patch everything in your environment. In this session we will go through how vulnerability intelligence can help you prioritize what patches are most important for your environment based on your security risks.  Plus, we will demo how you can create and deploy third party patches through Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Center 2012. .

Tommy Patterson, What’s New in Server 2012 R2 and Windows Azure
Tommy's action packed presentation and demo compiles many of the new details revealed during TechEd, MMS, and TechReady for all things new in Server 2012 R2 and Windows Azure.

Tommy Patterson began the virtualization adventure during the launch of VMware's ESX server's initial release.  At a time when most admins were only adopting virtualization as a lab-only solution, he pushed through the performance hurdles to quickly bring production applications to the environment.  Since the early 2000s, he has spent most of his career in a consulting role providing assessments, engineering, planning, and implementation assistance to many members of the Fortune 500.  Troubleshooting complicated scenarios, and incorporating best practices into customer's production virtualization systems has been his passion for many years.  Now he shares his knowledge of virtualization and cloud computing at Microsoft as an IT Pro in the Platform Evangelists division.

K. Chris Nakagaki, Troubleshooting @ Cox Communiccations w/ vCOPs and Log Insight
In this session, Chris explores the ways Cox utilizes the various toolsets within vCenter Operations in conjunction with Log Insight for troubleshooting and deeper problem analysis.

Chris is a lead systems administrator @ Cox Communications.  His current favorite technologies revolve around virtualization, cloud computing architectures, and POWERshell.  Also, a self-diagnosed technophile to top it all off.

Hal Rottenberg (with Garth Maynard), Exploring System Center ConfigMgr Logs for Fun and Profit
In this session, Hal will talk about the value of logs and other machine data, particularly the things that AREN'T in the System Center GUI. We'll go into a few different ways to collect this data. Once you have it all in one place, Hal will show you some of the cool stuff you can find in SCCM agent logs that might help you to solve some thorny issues in your environment. You'll also learn how to use PowerShell or Splunk as the tools to collect and analyze log data.

Hal Rottenberg works as a Solution Architect for Splunk. His background is in Windows and VMware systems engineering, PowerShell automation, and big data analytics. Hal is a Microsoft PowerShell MVP, and is the co-host of the long-running PowerScripting Podcast. He enjoys speaking about technology at user groups and conventions when he's not running his kids around to soccer practice. You can find him online as halr9000 everywhere that geeks hang out.

Scott Moss, SCOM 2012 MP Authoring 101 w/ Visio Tools
This session is an introduction for the IT professional on how to utilize the Visio Authoring tool to extend Operations Manager 2012 monitoring capability. Scott will walk through making a management pack as well as sealing it.

Scott is currently performing contract work for various agencies, focusing heavily on Operations Manager and integrating OpsMgr with other System Center products.